What an election day Tuesday was! Two town elections with 15 candidates seeking a total of six seats on the town councils in Rangely and Meeker. Each town had three open seats, but Rangely had 10 candidates seeking election and Meeker had five candidates seeking three seats.
It is good to see several candidates on the ballots as it has been more common in recent elections to barely find enough candidates to fill the ballot.
First, congratulations to Regas Halandras in Meeker and Joseph Nielsen in Rangely. Both men will be those towns’ mayors, and both ran unopposed. That tends to say the towns’ voters were happy with their single candidates and that the residents of the two towns felt these two gents couldn’t be defeated at the ballot box.
It goes to their credit, too, that in a lot of candidates for city and county seats said they were running to “give the voters a choice.”
Congratulations also are extended to Travis Day, Wendy Gutierrez and Melissa Kindall, who are the newly re-elected (Travis Day) or elected members of the Meeker Town Board.
Likewise in Rangely, congrats go out to Andy Key, Trey Robie and Tyson Hacking, who will be filling the seats on the Rangely Town Council.
And while congratulations may not be in order, certainly thanks and a vote of appreciation go to the candidates who did not win as the selections in both towns were good. Elections are always better when there is a selection.
Both towns are looking at a challenge with the local economies not enjoying the best of financial times. The challenge is there to open up the thought processes and come up with innovative ways to look at the future.
Good luck to both councils and both mayors, and we all look forward to visible progress at both ends of the county.
I am excited to see the Meeker High School Drama Club planning a production of “The Wizard of Oz.”
“The Wizard of Oz” is a true favorite and it contains what I consider to be one of my two all-time favorite songs with Judy Garland’s “Over the Rainbow.” (The other being Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.”)
These two great songs make you feel great about life.
Anyway, don’t miss “The Wizard of Oz” next weekend at MHS.